Hosea, Hosea chapter 1. If you have room in the margin
of your Bible, I would suggest you make a couple of notations.
When we read the book of Hosea, it's always helpful to remember
what the names of the people mean who are used here as pictures
for us. Their names are not accidental,
but purposeful. and instructive. Some of the
commentaries suggest that perhaps this story of Hosea and Gomer
is rather a parable intended to teach the work of God's grace
than a literal story. Either way it doesn't matter,
but we understand that the names given were not accidental. They
were given specifically to teach us something concerning the gospel
of God's free grace in Jesus Christ. The word Hosea is the
same as the word Joshua or Jesus. It means Savior. His wife's name,
Gomer, means both consumption and consummation. We were like
Gomer in utter consumption, utterly consumed with sin, utterly consumed
under the wrath and curse of God's holy law. But as Gomer
was the consummation of Hosea's love, so too we are the consummation
of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gomer was the daughter
of one Diblaeum, don't know whether that's her father's name or her
mother's name, doesn't matter, but Diblaeum means dried, or
a dried cake of figs, dry, just dried up, withered. Jezreel means
the seed of God, or the people of God. Lo-ru-va-ma means no
mercy. There are some people, there
are some people to whom God Almighty will show no mercy. No mercy. No mercy. What a name. Lo-ru-va-ma, no mercy. Lo-e-me means not mine. not my people. There are some people whose names
are Jezreel. They're the seed of God. I want
you to be numbered among them. People to whom God is always
gracious. And there are some who are rejected
by God, of whom God says, not mine. Not mine. to whom God says, no mercy. All right, now let's read a few
verses here in Hosea chapter 1. First, read verse 2. The beginning of the word of
the Lord by Hosea, and the Lord said to Hosea, go take unto thee
a wife of Hortems, and children of Hortem. For the land hath
committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. Verse 3. So he
went and took consumption. He went and took Gomer, the daughter
of Didleon, one who was dried up, which conceived and bare
him a son. Chapter 2, verse 5. Their mother hath played the
harlot. She that conceived them hath
done shamefully. For she said, I will go after
my lovers. I'm going to pursue my lovers
that give me my bread, my water, my wool, and my flax, my oil,
and my drink. Chapter 3. Then said the Lord unto me, Go
yet, love a woman, beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress. Now here's the key. According
to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look
to other gods and love flagons of wine, So I bought her to me
for fifteen pieces of silver, for an omer of barley and a half
omer of barley. And I said unto her, Thou shalt
abide for me many days. Thou shalt not play the harlot. Thou shalt not be for another
man. So will I also be for thee."
This love of Hosea for Gomer is as the love of the Lord for
the children of Israel, for God's elect. The title of my message
this morning, if you're taking notes, is A Portrait of Sovereign
Grace. Our Lord, by His own example,
showed us that one of the best ways to instruct men and women
in doctrine One of the best ways to teach any doctrine is to give
a picture. Our Lord frequently would give
a picture of a shepherd and his sheep or a fisherman fishing
and casting their nets. He would just draw a verbal picture
and by those pictures instruct us in gospel truth. Well, here
we have a picture of God's sovereign grace by which sinners are saved
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, without question, the Word
of God teaches emphatically constantly and universally that salvation
is by God's free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ our Lord
and Redeemer. Salvation is not in any way determined
by or dependent upon your will, your worth, or your works. Salvation
is altogether, according to God's will, the work of Jesus Christ
and the worth of Jesus Christ who is the incarnate God, the
infinitely worthy sacrifice for sinners. The Scripture declares,
blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach
unto thee. The Scripture declares plainly
that we who believe are given power to become the sons of God,
which are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. We understand that we are
justified freely by God's grace through the redemption that is
in Jesus Christ. We recognize the testimony of
scripture by grace, by grace, by grace are you saying. And
every child of God delights to have it that way. Every person
who has experienced grace delights to confess with the Apostle Paul,
by the grace of God, I am what I am. Believers are many women
who have experienced the grace of God and they know, they understand,
and they rejoice in the fact that salvation is totally by
the free and sovereign grace of our God in Jesus Christ. This
story of Hosea and Gomer will give us a picture of the meaning
of grace. Grace is the boundless, infinite,
free, effectual goodness of God. It is the goodness of God toward
fallen sinners in Christ, by which he has elected and redeemed,
by which he regenerates, calls, justifies, sanctifies, preserves,
keeps, and at last shall glorify every one of those who were chosen
in Christ before the world began. Grace is that which is the exercise
of God's goodness toward those sinners who are the objects of
His everlasting love and His everlasting purpose of grace
in Christ Jesus. Someone made a distinction, and
I think it's proper, between the mercy of God and the grace
of God. I don't remember who I first
read after it made this or who first said it. I've seen it many
places. The person said, mercy is God
not giving us what we do deserve. Grace is God giving us what we
certainly do not deserve. It is the mercy of God that we
are not in hell right now. It is the mercy of God that allows
us to live upon his earth right now. Life is mercy, but eternal
life, that's grace. We are, by the mercy of God,
allowed to live even as rebels in this world. But it is by the
grace of God that the rebel is transformed to a submissive servant
and an obedient servant to the Lord Jesus Christ. Life is mercy,
but eternal life is grace. The free gift of God's grace. Anything short of hell is mercy. Anything. Anything short of hell. I don't guess anybody has ever
died that folks looked at him and said, well, he's in hell
now. I don't guess that's ever happened. But the fact is it happens all
the time. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you, any existence
in this world without Christ is better than death without
Christ. Anything here, anything short of mercy, short of hell
is mercy. But once this life is over, mercy
is ended and torment only torment forever to you who believe not. The mercy of God then is God
allowing us to live and preserving us in life. The grace of God
is God transforming us into the sons of God. making us heirs
of eternal life, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. So let's go to these three chapters
of Hosea, and I want to show you several things here that
are distinguishing characteristics of God's grace. First, in chapter
one, verses two and three, those verses we read just a little
bit ago, I want you to see that the grace of God by which we
are saved, the grace of God in Christ, the grace of God spoken
of in this book, and I'm talking now about the grace of God spoken
of in this book, not the opinions of men, not the opinions of the
religious world, but the grace of God as it is spoken of in
the word of God is sovereign electing grace. There is no such
thing as grace that is not totally independent of the creature.
And there is no such thing as grace that does not begin in
electing love. Grace is always sovereign electing
grace. And those who deny God's sovereignty
and deny God's election deny God's grace and deny God's word. They do not know our God. Hosea
speaks in verse 2 of chapter 1. The beginning of the word
of the Lord by Hosea. This is God's word to you and
to me by Hosea. The Lord said to Hosea, go take
unto thee a wife, a wife of whorehoms, a fallen wife. A fallen harlot
wife who is among the children of whoredoms. A woman who is
fallen who is the child of a fallen woman and a fallen father who's
from a fallen family. For the land has committed great
whoredom, departing from the Lord. So Hosea went and took
Gomer, the daughter of Bibliam, which conceived and bare him
a son. God told Hosea to love a woman, not just any woman,
but a harlot, and not just any harlot, a particular harlot. He told Hosea to go down and
take a wife, not multiple wives, but a wife, to take a wife out
from among those in the red light district who had lived there
generation after generation after generation in idolatry and adultery
and whoredom. And so the Lord God uses the
plainest, most crude description to describe a picture of you
and I by nature. Just fallen depraved, corrupt
human beings. Not only was he to take a specific
wife, but he went and took Gomer. Why? What was the purpose of
this? It was to show us a picture of
God's grace toward us. We read it in chapter 3, verse
1. Hosea loved Gomer according to the love of the Lord toward
the children of Israel. Remember now, Hosea means Savior. Gomer means consumption. Gomer
was consumed in iniquity and consumed with iniquity. But also
Gomer means consummation. So that the consummation of Hosea's
purpose of love and mercy and grace toward Gomer is found in
Gomer's restitution to him even as the purpose of God in his
love, mercy and grace toward chosen sinners is found in the
ultimate consummation of our salvation and everlasting glory
in Christ. The fact is, there are many in
this world to whom God is not gracious. Don't ever presume
that God will be gracious to you. You who are without Christ,
do not dare presume that God will be gracious to you. I know
people these days talk about common grace, as though the grace
of God is a common thing that God just sort of throws out for
men, and you take it or leave it, whatever you want to do,
it'll be all right. And God's just as gracious to this group
as He is to that group. God's just as gracious to those
who are lost as He is to those who are saved. The difference
is your decision and your choice. Nothing could be further from
the truth. There is nothing at all common about the grace of
God. The grace of God is sovereign, distinguishing, and particular.
And God is gracious to some people. And there are other people whose
names are no mercy. He will give no grace. He will
extend no mercy to multitudes. Our Lord Jesus said as He beheld
those cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida before whom He had
done so many wonderful works in Matthew chapter 11, and He
said as He beheld their unbelief and pronounced judgment upon
them, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent. and has
revealed them unto babes. There are many in this world
who have never had the privilege of hearing a gospel preacher. That's the very beginning of
things. There are folks right here in this town who have never
had the privilege of hearing the gospel of God's free grace.
There are many who hear the word, but most of those who do hear
the gospel, most of them are not called to life in faith by
the Spirit of God. I call, I preach, and I go all
around the country and around the world and preach the gospel
and call men and women to repentance and faith. I'm calling you right
now to repentance and faith in Christ. But there are many who
are called by my voice, who are never called by God's power.
And the Lord said many are called. Few are chosen. Few are chosen. Most of those who do profess
faith in Christ don't last very long. I was thinking the other
day, just in the time I've been in Danville, been here pushing
18 years, and I saw if everybody was here today who's been here,
we'd have to tear down some walls, build some more. But most people
don't last very long. Most people have spasms of religion. Most people go to church and
make a profession of faith when they're a little down, have a
little trouble, and as soon as the trouble is over and they
get lifted up again, they're gone and they forget God and
they have a little more trouble. Most people don't last. The fact is that there are few
to whom the straight gate is revealed. Few are still who enter
it. Fewer still who walk the narrow
way and fewer still who walk that way to the end. There are
many in this world to whom God is not gracious. But enough about
that. Blessed be God, Ron. There are
some folks to whom God is gracious. I'm preaching to some folks who
have experienced God's grace. I'm looking in the eyes of so
many women who've been snatched from the jaws of hell. I'm standing
here speaking to you as such a man. There are some women and
some men in this world who are loved of God, chosen of God,
whom God has determined to save. To them, He is gracious. Always gracious. Gracious in
everything He does. Even when he appears to frown,
he's gracious. Even when he appears to have
forsaken them, he's gracious. Even when he appears to be afflicting
them horribly, he's gracious. Always, always gracious. You
won't mind reading Ephesians 1 one more time, will you? Turn
back there and read it. I know you can quote it. Turn
back there and look at it one more time. For those elect sinners
whom God has chosen to save, there is sovereign, unchangeable,
and an eternal purpose of grace. And it is by this sovereign,
unchangeable, unalterable, eternal purpose of grace that God Almighty
rules the world. I wish I just half believed that
like it'll be believed. God Almighty rules the universe
according to his purpose of grace toward you. Look at this, Ephesians
1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places. according as he hath chosen us
in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him. Forget it now. In love,
having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved. We were chosen in Christ and
predestinated to be like Christ before the world began. The basis
and cause of God's eternal election was not at all that somehow God
looked out into the future with his perfect vision of omniscience
and he knowing what we would do, knowing that we would make
the right decision, knowing that we would decide to follow him,
knowing that we would distinguish ourselves from other men, God
said, all right, I'll choose them. That's not election. God's
election was without condition upon us. God's election was His
free, sovereign determination from eternity to love us and
to have us as His own, irregardless of what we are. Hosea went down
and found a woman fallen, a fallen woman who was the daughter of
a fallen woman, who was the daughter of a fallen woman, and he chose
that fallen woman and said, I'll take her. That's exactly what
God did with us. Our election in Christ gave us
an eternal immutable acceptance with God from eternity. So that
in Hosea chapter 14 verse 4, we read God describing his love
and he says, I will love them freely. He said from eternity,
I will love them freely. I will love them without a cause
for mine anger is turned away from him. The only person who
doesn't like that, the only person who doesn't rejoice in God's
sovereign electing grace is the one who's never received grace.
That's exactly right. You mean, pastor, you're saying
these folks who don't believe in election don't know God? Yeah,
that's what I'm saying. That's exactly what I'm saying.
Folks who despise God's electing law stand up and fight against
God for choosing sinners in Christ. Say, that's not right. That takes
everything out of my hands. We're delighted to take everything
out of our hands. Thank God nothing's in our hands. We're accepted of God in Christ
according to His electing law. When the Jews heard our Lord
speaking of His election and His sovereign redemption of His
sheep, the Jews said, we don't like that. The Lord said, we're
talking to you. You're not in my shape. The believer responds
to God's election by saying, it is not that I did choose thee.
For Lord, that could not be. This heart would still refuse
thee. Hast thou not chosen me? All
right. Secondly, I want you to understand that
the grace of God by which we are saved is undeserved, undesired,
unconditional grace. Gomer was a common strumpet,
just a whore. Oh, preacher, don't use words
like that. That's offensive. In these days,
when everybody practices it, we don't talk anything about
it. Back in those days, when folks recognized some sense of
decency, they called a spade a spade. And this is what God
says in his word. Now, don't get so refined that
you're refined beyond the word of God. Gomer was a whore. a
prostitute, a hooker, a streetwalker. She wasn't looking for a husband.
She didn't want a husband, and she didn't deserve a husband.
But Hosea chose her. Hosea loved her. Hosea wanted
her. Hosea set his heart on her, and
Hosea would not be satisfied till he got her. He wasn't satisfied
merely to get her in his house. He wanted her heart knitted to
his heart, and he wouldn't be satisfied without that. That's
a picture of God's love, mercy, and grace toward us. God's grace
toward us in Christ is altogether undeserved. If God should send the whole
world to hell, it's exactly what we deserve. If God should take
your daughters and mine, your sons and your neighbor's sons,
your wife and mine, your husband and my wife's husband, your parents
and mine. If God should take the whole
world and cast us forever into hell, that's exactly what we
deserve. Exactly what we deserve. And
we will not stand back and fuss and argue until, I can't stand
the idea. I can't stand the idea that God
did that. If God sends you to hell, that's what you deserve.
Yeah, exactly. None of us deserve his grace.
And none of us wanted it. We didn't desire it. Oh, we desire
salvation. Everybody wants that. We desire
to be kept out of hell. Everybody wants that. We desire
to live forever. Everybody wants that. But nobody
desired his grace. Nobody by nature desires to be
saved purely without merit on the merit of a substitute. Everybody's
too good for that. Sitting right where you are this
morning. If right now you desire, honestly, in your heart and soul,
to be saved purely by God's free grace, without any merit, recognizing
you don't deserve anything but hell. Recognizing, acknowledging,
and your sons and daughters and wives don't deserve anything
but hell. When you recognize that, that's when God saved you
by His grace. Nobody does by nature. Everybody
wants to do something and thinks that surely God must make them
the exception. Oh, we don't talk like that.
We're too proud to let folks see what we really are. But everybody
sitting here right now this morning, by nature, thinks, now I recognize
that there's something wrong with me, but buddy, I ain't in
such bad shape that I deserve to go to hell. And my mama sure
isn't in such bad shape. My granddaddy, he's sure not
in a bad shape. Oh, yeah. That's exactly what
we deserve. And we don't desire God's grace
in Christ until God gives us his grace. And that grace by which we are
saved is absolutely free, unconditional. What do you mean unconditional,
Pastor? The Lord chose me from everlasting,
knowing exactly what I would be by nature, knowing exactly
how I would spend my life spitting in his face. And he chose to save me knowing
exactly what I am now still by nature, without condition, is
I love him freely. The Lord redeemed me unconditionally. He said, I will be his God, he'll
be my son. He said, I'll buy him and I'll
not let him perish. I'll not let him go. And he died
for me without condition of anything in me. He redeemed me. He called me. Unconditionally. Come on. And I came to Him without any
qualification, without any merit, without one solitary thing to
commend myself to God. He accepted me unconditionally. And He still keeps me unconditionally. You mean preacher? There's absolutely
no circumstance, no condition under which God Almighty will
cast off chosen, redeemed, called, regenerate, believing sinners?
Absolutely no condition. You mean, Pastor, there's hope
He hasn't cast me off yet? You mean that if I'm called by
His grace, He will not let me go? That's exactly what He said.
I give unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish.
Never. I hear people respond and they
say, well, oh, you can't preach that. You can't preach that.
Folks will want to go out and live like hell. Nobody's ever experienced this
grace. Merle, we got too much hell in our hearts. We know what
it's like. We want Him. To honor Him. Live for Him. Magnify
Him. We've been saved by free grace.
Called by God's grace. Oh, I hope never to get over
the wonder of that. And I hope you never get over the wonder
of that. I heard someone mention it the
other day. It may have been Ron on one of his tapes. I don't
remember. When John Newton had been converted,
the old slave trader, the fellow who wrote Amazing Grace, how
sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but
now am found, was blind, but now I see." Someone came to him
and was very much astounded. I think it was Herbie, I'm not
sure about that. Came to him and said, he said
that a notable man in his congregation, a notorious sinner in the parish
where he preached, had just been saved, so everybody was just
astounded. And Newton responded like this, he said, I despair
of none since God saved me by His grace. I despair of none. He might even
save you. always begins with what we might
call prevenient or preparatory grace. Let me show you a few
texts of scripture in this regard. Hold your hands here in Hosea
and turn to Jude 1. Jude 1. It's impossible to really tell
when the grace of God begins to operate upon the hearts of
His elect. Sometimes we can tell when the
quickening, regenerating, converting grace comes, but not grace itself. We simply cannot tell when God
begins His work in His elect. Grace, you see, always works
for us. God's grace is exercised from
His elect long before they know anything about His grace. Long
before we're aware of it. Let me show you what I mean.
I've been talking to you a good bit. lately about prevenient
grace, and I'm not going to repeat my preaching. If you want to
hear more about it, get the tapes. But in Jude 1 here, we see that
prevenient grace precedes God's grace, that is, His saving grace.
It follows the sinner. and provides for all of God's
elect until the day of their calling, preserving and keeping
them, and bringing them at last to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jude,
the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them
that are sanctified by God the Father, that is chosen in eternal
election, and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Now if you
read modern theology books, not modern, ancient ones too. There
are fools in ancient days as well. They'd say, well, Jude,
you got that wrong. They ought to read to them that
are called and preserved and sanctified. No, Jude got it exactly
right, you got it wrong. We were sanctified, set apart
in God's purpose before the world began. And those who were sanctified
in Christ by God's elected purpose before the world began, through
all the days of their lives, are preserved unto the time,
place, and day of their calling. And at the appointed time of
love, their calling. sanctified, preserved, and called. Come back to Hosea chapter 2.
Here's a picture of this prevenient grace. Verse 5, their mother hath played
the harlot. She that conceived them hath
done shamefully. For she said, I'll go after my
lovers. I'm going to pursue my lovers. That's what all men do
by nature. I'm going to pursue the lust
of my flesh. I'm going to get what I want.
My lovers that give me my bread and my water and my wool and
my flax, my oil and my drink. I'm going to pursue after my
career. I'm going to pursue after my education. I'm going to pursue
to be somebody in this world. This is what will give me everything.
Read on. Therefore, all right, you go
ahead, honey. You go ahead. Therefore, behold,
I will hedge up thy way. I ain't just gonna put a hedge
up, it'll be a thorn hedge. And make a wall so that she cannot
find her path. Pursue, yeah, but straying all
the time. Pursue, yeah, but finding nothing.
And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake
them. That is, she shall not finally
lay hold of them and find satisfaction for her soul. She shall seek
them, but shall not find them. Then, when I get done, when I
get done, then shall she say, I will go and return to my first
husband. For then was it better with me
than now." When I get done with her, she'll
be tickled to death to come home. When I get done, she'll be most
delighted to have me. Grace separated me from my mother's
womb, followed me throughout the days of my rebellion, and
brought me at last to the place where the Lord Jesus Christ was
revealed in me. Verse 8, Hosea 2. For she did not know that I gave
her corn and wine and oil, multiplied her silver and gold which they
prepared for Baal. He said I provided for her, I
protected her. That's exactly what God in his
grace has done for us. You who are here this morning
were the objects of God's grace. I have no idea who you are and
you certainly don't. Unless God's been pleased to
call you. I'm going to tell you something. While you live, thumbing your
nose at God, I'll have my way. I'll do my thing. Pay no attention
to that pastor down there. He's a babbling old man. He doesn't
know what's going on. I'll have my way. Pay no attention
to you, Mom. Pay no attention to you, Dad.
You don't have any idea what's going on. You don't have any
idea about how it is living in this world. I'll do things my
way! I'm telling you something. If
indeed God has set His heart on you, it's God who graciously
preserves you. in life. And while you live with
your fist in God's face, it's God who sends his angels to protect
you. The ministering spirit sent forth
to minister to those who shall be there as a salvation. I look back at my life, Bobby
and I, I flirted with hell all the time
and scared to death I might wind up there. I look back and see
things where it's so evident, it's so evident that God just
simply stopped me from self-destruction. Just stopped me right there.
Just stopped me. Why? Because he said he'll be
mine. When I get done with him, then
you'll come to me. You'll come to me. The grace
of God This grace that brings salvation prepares the heart
for grace. God has to bring us down or he'll
never lift us up. He has to abase us or he will
never exalt us. He has to humble us or he will
never bring us to sit among the sons of God. And Gomer had to
be brought down that she might be prepared to be lifted up. You remember how the Lord said
in the parable concerning those who receive the word. Some receive
the word on stony ground, some by the wayside, some receive
the word among thorns, and some receive the word as seeds sown
in good ground. Well, what makes it different?
Sureheart's not anybody else's by nature. You have a good ground. This ground has been deliberately,
purposefully plowed up and prepared to receive the seed. I wonder if God's made any good
ground in your heart to receive the word. Grace prepares the
heart and makes a way for grace. And this preparatory work of
grace is beautifully illustrated here in Hosea and Gomer. Gomer
was a harlot, but Hosea loved her. The godly old prophet, went
down in the red light district by God's command and found Gomer
and brought her home. Married her. And God blessed their union with
three children, a girl and two boys. And they lived together
a long time. Hosea took Gomer out of the red
light district Set her up in the parsonage, and she became
a respectable woman. Everybody thought highly of Gomer. He had taken her out of the red
light district, but he had never taken the red light district
out of her. She was still a harlot at heart. She lusted after her old companions. She was religious, you see, but
not redeemed. She was correct, but not chaste. She was beautiful, but not devoted. And that's the shape some of you
are in. Religious, but not redeemed. Correct, but not chaste. Beautiful,
very beautiful. but not devoted to Christ. One
day, going where I can picture her, they didn't have air conditioning
in those days, sitting up in the windowsill, a hot day, sitting
there fattening herself. She saw one of her old companions
come by. She called him over. They met down in the breezeway
and whispered a little bit. And she forsook Hosea. Hosea came home and called for
Goldberg. She wasn't there, no answer.
Little Ruth, where's your mama? I don't know, I haven't seen
her today. Little Andy, have you seen your mom? No, no. No, I
haven't seen her since last night. Jezreel, where's Goldberg? Well,
Dad, I don't have to tell you this, but I saw her walking down
the road with that fellow who came by the other day, the last
time I saw him. You young people, listen to me
a minute. Listen to me. Keep far away from temptation. Don't flirt with it. Flee from
youthful lust. A permissive word, an unguarded
moment, may bring you into the misery of hell itself. Don't be a fool. Blessed is the
man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sitteth in
the seat of scorners, nor standeth in the way of sinners. Gomer
was utterly stupid. She hearkened to the lust and
counsel of her own ungodly soul and her own ungodly heart. While
she slept in the arms of her loving husband, she was thinking
only about her lovers. Strange word to call these fellows. Gomer had gotten now into the
gutter again. She was fallen. Fallen by a willful,
malicious transgression. She took Hosea's love and spit
on it as she walked out the door. She took Hosea's blessings and
cast them away as she walked out the door. Don't need you,
don't need yours, don't want you. And Hosea still loved her. And he sought for her. He went
everywhere looking for Gomer. Place wasn't too big, no doubt
Gomer saw him, but she hid from him. She didn't want him. At last, Hosea found her. Found
where she was, found where she was staying. And every night
while she was sleeping with another man, one of her lovers, her only real lover, was out
gathering up his groceries every night, sitting down by her door.
so she wouldn't go hungry. Flax and wool so she could stay
warm, not run naked. You see, Hosea had every right
to take her. He could take her by force and
take her home or take her by force and have her stoned to
death. It didn't matter as far as law was concerned, she was
his. But Hosea wouldn't have her until he had her. He wouldn't have her until she
came willingly Voluntarily, because she loved him. And he set out
to make her love him. And that's what chapter 2 is
all about. We won't read verses 9 through 17, but you read it
at your leisure. He says, this is what I'll do.
I'm going to come now, and I'm going to take away your corn.
And you're going to get hungry. And I'm going to take away your
oil, and your flax, and your wine. And you're going to get
cold. And you're going to start to
think about things. I'll lure you into the wilderness. I'm
going to bring you down and strip you naked and cause you to be
ashamed in the sight of all your lovers. And they're all going
to laugh you to death. I'm going to bring you down. I'm going to bring you down.
And when I bring you into the wilderness, I'm going to speak
directly to your heart. I'll speak to you. Then you'll
go home with me. God graciously does the same
for us. He prepares his people to receive
the word of his grace and makes each one willing in the day of
his power to come to Christ by one means or another. He creates
a dissatisfaction. He strips away all our joy, destroys
our peace. brings us into misery. Now that's a pretty good hope
for a fellow when he's brought into misery. To utterly despise himself. To
utterly abhor himself. Job said, I've seen you, now
I abhor myself. Oh, I'd love to find somebody
who abhors himself. I've got good news for folks
who abhor themselves. I promise you. Anybody, really,
who abhors himself, he's loved of God. He loved of God. Gomer came to poverty when Hosea
took away her corn and all her wine and flax and she got old.
It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. I didn't always
look this way, you know. You get old. You young ladies,
That beauty that you're so proud of will soon turn to wrinkles.
And I don't care how rich you are, how many surgeons you can
find, it's still going to turn ugly. It's just going to turn
ugly. Gomer, at last, this woman who
had been set up in the parsonage. Everybody looked at her and said,
boy, she's somebody. That's Jose's wife. That's Jose's wife. Now
she's derelict, abominable, fallen, bitchy. And by the last sentence,
do you remember who she was? Let me tell you about her. Let
me tell you where she was one time. Let me tell you about that
woman. You stay away from her. Stay
away from her time. And when she was no longer useful
to sell herself as a harlot She's put herself up for auction as
a common slave. Maybe somebody will take me and
at least feed me so I can clean their bedchambers and I can take
care of the common things in the house, as long as they'll
just keep me alive. Nobody wanted Gomer. Nobody except
Hosea. And he wanted her. He brought
her down right where he wanted her, and he's fixing to do something
for her. Here's the fourth characteristic
of grace. It's always effectual. Grace doesn't ever fail. Nutty-nutty,
God doesn't try to save, he saves. He doesn't try to get you to
come to Christ, he brings you to Christ. He doesn't try to get
you to believe, he gives you faith. Grace is always effectual. Look at chapter 2 verse 19. This
is what Hosea says concerning Gomer. She hasn't heard his voice
yet, but this is what he says concerning her. I will betroth
thee unto me forever. Yea, I will betroth thee unto
me in righteousness and in justice or judgment and in lovingkindness
and in mercies. Everything that Hosea did for
Gomer He did for Gomer alone, and he did it that he might have
Gomer's heart. One day, as he's walking through
the city, he passes by that auction block where the slaves are auctioned
off. You've seen those pictures in
the old movies. They've got these strapping,
strong, handsome young men. Beautiful, gorgeous young women
all standing up there, kind of parading themselves, showing
what fine specimens they were. But back in the back are those
derelict, abominable, useless things that maybe, maybe
somebody might possibly take and spend out their days hiding
away in a corner somewhere, just living off the scraps that somebody
throws their way. Back there among those derelict,
fallen, abominable wretches, who's this Fox Comber? Comber? I can see you're kind
of glanced up. That you Comber? Did you bought her? for an Omar
Barley and a half Omar Barley. And he walks over and slips his
coat around her, tucks her arm under his, and walked straight
down Main Street, proud to have her. And she's so delighted,
so, so humbled. And he takes her right back to
Parsons. And he sends LaRue Hamad, Jezreel,
and Lueme spend the night with Aunt Sally. And he takes Gomer into his bedchamber. And written over her head, he
brought me into his banqueting house. And his banner over me
was love. And she cried, stave me with
flagons of wine. My heart is sick with love. Now Hosea has got her heart. And that is God's effectual saving
grace in Jesus Christ. Amazing grace. How sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now
am found, was blind. Now I see. Oh, may God be pleased
now to fetch you home. to his darling son by his omnipotent
grace. Amen. Number 209.